Why is this wrong? Well, for starters, Display advertising (banners, buttons) aren’t supposed to generate clicks, they’re supposed to generate brand awareness (familiarity with the brand name, with the logo, with the brand’s “feel” and “tone”, with the brand’s “personality”). Yes, clicks are great and your banners will get some…but not many. The CTR% (click-through-rate) from targeted search will be much higher, almost all the time (unless your targeted search campaign is flawed).

That said, it’s known that Display advertising, used in conjunction with an active AdWords campaign, actually increases direct site visitation and brand-name searches, both are indicators of brand awareness. To get the most value from display units, content from the site could (and should) be presented in the ad unit (if possible), and engagement within the ad unit itself should be measured where allowed (rollovers, clicks within content in banner, game-plays within banner, etc.)

Lastly, Display advertising is a visual medium, and many (if not most) of the sites in which the ad units will be delivered are geared towards creating positive user-experiences. Having well designed and impactful visual creatives is supportive of the environment in which they will shown and will have an overall positive effect on branding.